The Anatolian Adventure: The Asian Side of the Bosporus

Finally, I arrived in Istanbul. I only had two nights here, as I didn't intend to explore much of the city in the first place. I've been to Istanbul in the past, and this time, I just needed to be in the city to catch my flight back home. Nevertheless, I had an entire day in the city, and I used that to explore the Asian side of the Bosporus, which was something I didn't do during my first visit.

The Anatolian Adventure: Muradiye Complex

The last thing I decided to explore before heading to Istanbul was the Muradiye Complex. This collection of tombs is found in the western side of Bursa, and given I was staying in a central location, it was a convenient walk from where I was.

The Anatolian Adventure: The Green Mosque and Green Tomb

Bursa has several Ottoman architectural gems. One of them is the Complex of Mehmed I, consisting, among many structures, of the Green Mosque as well as the Green Tomb. It is named as such because of the prominent green and blue tile decorations.

The Anatolian Adventure: Grand Mosque of Bursa

While I was in Bursa, I visited the city's main mosque. It was huge, and inside, there were plenty of amazing calligraphy.

The Anatolian Adventure: Old Town Bursa

Bursa was my penultimate stop before flying back home. So after two nights in Eskişehir, I took the bus, and a few hours later, I was in Bursa, wandering the Old Town.

The Anatolian Adventure: Odunpazarı Modern Museum

After spending two nights in Mardin, I took a flight to Ankara, and directly after flying I took a high-speed train, this time to Eskişehir. By this time, I knew how Ankara train station functioned, so I just took a cab from the airport directly to the train station, bought myself a ticket to Eskişehir, and a few hours later, I was out of traditional southeast Anatolia and right in the middle of relatively modern Eskişehir.

The Anatolian Adventure: Mardin City Museum

The last thing I did while I was in Mardin for two nights was to visit the city museum. It is found on the eastern side of the Old Town, and it contains some interesting artifacts from the city.

The Anatolian Adventure: Old Town Mardin

My last stop in the Anatolian southeast before heading back westwards was the city of Mardin. I took a bus from Şanlıurfa, I crossed the Euphrates River, and a few hours later I was in Mesopotamia. It was a funny and a fuzzy feeling to be in locations that until then were simply encyclopedic to me.

The Anatolian Adventure: Göbeklitepe and Harran

Before I moved on from Şanlıurfa, I did one day trip. I hired a car and driver in order to go to Göbeklitepe and Harran. These are two places that are very old, but worth checking out.

The Anatolian Adventure: Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum

The last archaeological museum I visited in this trip was the Şanlıurfa Archaeology Museum. And even though I was in a far-flung city in southeastern Anatolia, the collection was nevertheless impressive, and worth seeing. This region definitely has plenty of historical treasures to check out.

The Anatolian Adventure: Haleplibahçe Mosaic Museum

Every city in southeastern Anatolia has its own mosaic museum. Şanlıurfa is no different, and there is a museum in the city centre dedicated to mosaics. So one day, I decided to check it out.

The Anatolian Adventure: Old Town Şanlıurfa

After spending two nights in Gaziantep, I ventured further east. I took a bus and headed to Şanlıurfa, where I spent three nights.

The Anatolian Adventure: Zeugma Mosaic Museum

Perhaps the most fascinating place I have seen while in Gaziantep was the Zeugma Mosaic Museum. It is the largest mosaic museum in the world, and I was definitely glad to have trekked all the way to the other side of the railway tracks and highway, since this place contains many mosaic treasures worth admiring.

The Anatolian Adventure: Gaziantep Kalesi

After spending time in Hatay, I took the bus yet again and this time went to Gaziantep. I was concentrating on Southeast Anatolia, and this was my first stop. It was an exotic place, and slightly challenging. This was the first time I visited restaurants that didn't have menus, and all I needed to do to get food was to point at the meat that I liked which was displayed in a glass cabinet.

The Anatolian Adventure: Necmi Asfuroglu Museum (Museum Hotel)

The last thing I checked out in Hatay before venturing further was the Necmi Asfuroglu Museum, also known as the Museum Hotel. This is a four- or five-star hotel (I am not exactly sure), which has a massive archaeological site directly underneath it. See, I was told that when the construction for the hotel started, they discovered a huge ancient Roman ruins when they were digging, so the original hotel plans were halted. It was eventually modified in a way that the ruins beneath were kept intact, and the hotel was simply lifted, and constructed above it, so that nowadays, there's a fancy hotel and an archaeological site at the same place.

The Anatolian Adventure: Cave-Church of St. Peter

I didn't just visit museums in Hatay. I also visited perhaps one of Christianity's oldest churches.

The Anatolian Adventure: Hatay Archaeology Museum

After spending some time in Adana and doing a day trip to Tarsus, it was time to move on. I took a bus and went to Hatay, also known as Antakya. This is a dead end: Hatay and the province containing it is bordered by Syria (where I obviously don't intend to go to) and the Mediterranean Sea. Nevertheless, I was told there are very good reasons to visit Hatay (mostly for the food), so I spent a few days there. The first thing I did was check out the fabulous Hatay Archaeology Museum.

The Anatolian Adventure: Tarsus

While I was in Adana, I decided to take a day trip to Tarsus. It's an easy ride: there is a train that links Adana with Tarsus (which eventually goes further to Mersin) and this is a frequent connection. So one morning, I headed to the train station, bought myself a ticket, and then about an hour later, I was in Tarsus.

The Anatolian Adventure: Ulu Cami in Adana

I spent a few days in Adana. I suppose after being in Cappadocia for four nights, I wanted some city-based creature comforts. Adana provided that. Adana had interesting restaurants, and it provided me a welcome break from typical Turkish fare. Heck, there was this one restaurant in Adana which served very tasty but otherwise typical Western food, but since I have been limited to typical Turkish staples until recently, I found it a very welcome change. In any case, as I was chilling out in Adana, I also explored the rest of the city, and one day, I wandered to the southern side of town, which is more traditional and chaotic.

The Anatolian Adventure: Adana Museum

Adana is the first of several cities in the south and southeast Turkey which I visited that had fascinating archaeological museums. There's just plenty of historical finds in this area of the country, and so these artifacts have been displayed in the cities they were closest to, rather than being wrapped up and hauled to be displayed in museums either in Istanbul or Ankara.